UNO

[89rabbit]

Re: UNO

Score UNO 107 SDSU 104 Jacks ball 1.1 sec left. TO Jacks!

[89rabbit]

Re: UNO

Final Score  UNO 107- SDSU 104.   We all knew this was going to be the toughest week (Mich. Tech., USD, UNO in 7days).

[CycloneJack]

Re: UNO

Damn......thanks for all the updates 89. Killed me not to be able to pick up the internet broadcast. That's one of those games were Jones might be the difference.

[SDSU_TUBA]

Re: UNO

Just got back from the game. Tough loss, I hate to be critical but on the last imbound play all of our players were inside the arc. I know they were going to run up to the ball but throwing and catching it at half court would be easier then at the 3 point line. UNO just could not miss at the end of the game though. Hopfully we can bounce back for next weekend games in MN.

[SDSUFAN]

Re: UNO

Damn......thanks for all the updates 89.  Killed me not to be able to pick up the internet broadcast.  That's one of those games were Jones might be the difference.

The big key as Nagy said was they had UNO down 14 points in the second half and did not put them away, but instead let back in the game. Could Jones have stopped Graham defensively? I not so sure. Jones or no Jones, its a loss. A shake up loss we hope and some times that the reality that is needed.

[jackmd]

Re: UNO

The sun will come up tomorrow. There will not be an undefeated record or a 28 game home court winning streak but there will be a team at SDSU which is still one of the best in all of DII. This loss hurts a lot more for the fans than it does for the players (although I am sure all the players are feeling it tonight). We will learn from this loss, the lack of defensive effort and mental discipline to blow an 16 point lead against an inferior team and bounce back. Nagy will make sure of this.

Time to regroup and review the game plan. This is a nice gut check for the players and the coaches. I expect they will come out firing on all cylinders next week. I would hate to face this team on Friday. Shake it off and keep the ultimate goal in mind (not the home win streak or the national ranking). Go on the road next week, compete, expect and play our best and we should be 3-1 in the NCC. Not a bad start.

[SDSUFAN]

Re: UNO

If you were listening to the broadcast on WNAX Steve Emming mentioned and Scott Nagy conceded that SDSU has not found a way to contain the scoring efforts of UNO's Ty Graham. This guy has tore us apart, and I have a feeling there is something very personal here.
Graham told the Omaha World Herald as I recall that he chose UNO over SDSU when he signed his letter of intent.  This may not be a correct statment.

I recall the night of the regional two years ago, a student assistant had to drive to Norfolk Neb from Brookings to bring a recuit to the big game.  Graham was going to NE Nebraska at that time and I recall seeing this particular student assistant bringing a small player to the game and meeting the Jack coaches and teams. I watched Graham during the game and he literally drank the game up watching every detail.

I sure shortly after the regional game  there was an SDSU recruiting choice made. About that time we selected QUE Richardson and rejected Graham .

I cant help think  by the sizes of crowds, Graham would have wanted to play at SDSU, thats my instinct.

Graham now seems to put such an effort into the SDSU game as though he had a point  to make,- You rejected me SDSU, I going to prove you made a mistake by rejecting me and I can score to prove my point.  Graham is good, but when UNO plays other NCC schools he not up for the games like the SDSU game.   Maybe I am full of bovine poop, its my take.

Add to that good coaching at UNO and close games, with SDSU. BTW, SDSU has won the ones that count.  namely conference tourney games and playoff games and to Graham's credit feels very competitive when approaching each SDSU Game.

Give Garham credit he is a great playber who probably would have enjoyed being a Jack, if an offer had been made.

[Texas_Jacks_Fan]

Re: UNO

Thought I would chime in with my UNO take last night, I don't know if there was a D1 or D2 team that could have handled Omaha last night when they started that offensive onslaught with12 minutes to go. They couldnt miss!, We played a good game. I think it was truly amazing that we stayed with them to send it to OT. I dont think Omaha can play like that again this year. We should have put them away when we were up by 16, but, they were making shots that NOBODY should have been making every time! We'll live to play another day. I'm not that disturbed by that loss-hated to see it but that just happens some nights-even in FROST arena.

[89rabbit]

Re: UNO

Good story over at http://jacksbasketball.com/ about the UNO game.  Read it, and then like me, let the UNO game go and focus on the upcoming Minnesota trip!

Go State!

[jackmd]

Re: UNO

I agree that the fans need to let it go. But, there are no excuses for this lossand the players need to recognize that. UNO should not beat us in Frost. The Jacks need to learn from this loss and pick up there defensive intensity. Great teams do not blow 16 point leads in the second half at home. We need to come out this weekend and dominate which will be difficult given the coaching crew at MSU and the history of recent rivalry with SCSU. Regardless, time for the Jacks to suck it up and show what there made of!! GO JACKS!!

[jackmd]

Re: UNO

Here is an article from the Omaha Herald.
This particular paragraph summarizes the outcome:

Graham nearly had his team in stitches with the shots he drained in overtime.

"He was making shots I didn't think he should even take," Dada said.

A step-back 3. A running left-handed floater in the lane. A fadeaway from the baseline.

Here is the full article:

BROOKINGS, S.D. - UNO has made it obvious that it is a team that plays to the level of its competition.

Case in point: Saturday night.

The Mavericks stormed back from a 16-point second-half deficit, survived a 3-pointer in the final seconds that forced overtime and ended the 27-game homecourt winning streak of previously undefeated South Dakota State - a team that was poised to move up to No. 1 in NCAA Division II.

Seniors Tola Dada and Ty Graham combined to hit clutch shot after clutch shot to lead the University of Nebraska at Omaha to an improbable 107-104 victory before 3,142 at Frost Arena.

"That was definitely not the same team that played Morningside last week," said UNO Coach Kevin McKenna, whose team struggled to beat the ex-NCC member and current NAIA team last week. "I'm really, really encouraged and proud of their effort."

Instead of floundering through a stretch of four straight North Central Conference road games to open the league season, UNO (11-3) is suddenly looking good at 2-0 with a rare road sweep following a Friday night win at Augustana.

"If we play with effort, it doesn't matter who we play and we'll be OK," Graham said. "We have the talent to beat anybody. We haven't played with the same intensity level, but we will the rest of the season - that I can promise you."

Graham, the 5-foot-8 senior from Lincoln High, had been mired in a season-long shooting slump. But he scored seven points in the final 1:51 of regulation, including a long 3-pointer that gave the Mavs their first lead of the game at 86-85 with 31 seconds left.

After a turnover, Graham was fouled and hit two free throws with 13 seconds to go. But the Mavs left SDSU's Marquise Richardson wide open for an overtime-forcing 3-pointer.

"If you had seen the look on our guys' faces after that . . . it made me want to cry," McKenna said. "But I said, 'Fellas, we've got five more minutes of basketball. This is fun.' "

Graham nearly had his team in stitches with the shots he drained in overtime.

"He was making shots I didn't think he should even take," Dada said.

A step-back 3. A running left-handed floater in the lane. A fadeaway from the baseline.

"When I get rolling, I get rolling," Graham said. "I felt really confident. You really can't focus on one guy on our team, because we have different guys who can do it different nights."

The Mavs led by as many as seven in overtime, and Dada made four of six free throws in the final 24 seconds. SDSU (17-1) had the ball out of bounds under the UNO basket with eight-tenths of a second left, but Josh Cerveny's long pass sailed out of bounds.

Graham finished with 24 points, with 21 coming after halftime. Dada doubled his career total by making three 3-pointers and finished with 23 points. Forward Ryan Curtis regained the form that made him last year's NCC freshman of the year, with 14 points and six rebounds.

In fact, Curtis and backup center Chris DeSpain seemed to energize the Mavs after they fell behind 58-42 with 14:02 left. Then came the Graham and Dada show.

"We let them get going, and once good offensive players get going, they're hard to get stopped," SDSU Coach Scott Nagy said. "It's not like we played horribly, they just made plays - great plays."

The other team to emerge 2-0 from the opening weekend of NCC play is North Dakota State, which plays host to UNO on Friday night. But for now, the Mavs can savor this win.

"I haven't won up here in four years," Dada said. "They've got this big streak going, and everybody is talking about how great they are. This is lovely."



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